A number of fluid recovery systems have been developed for withdrawing fluid, such as air and/or blood, from a patient after chest surgery or trauma. Such systems are intended to remove fluid from the pleural space or the mediastinal cavity and to restore the sub-atmospheric pressure that is normally present in the pleural space. The systems are usually adapted to allow suction to be applied to the chest cavity to facilitate, among other things, the removal of fluid from the pleural space. Once the fluid has been removed, the pleural cavity is allowed to heal and the normal condition of the pleural space is restored.
Despite many developments in the field of pleural drainage, there remains a need for improved pleural drainage systems. Specifically, there remains a need for pleural drainage systems that can provide one or more of improved drainage of fluid from the pleural cavity of a patient, monitoring of an airleak in a pleural cavity of a patient, and/or the delivery of a therapeutic treatment to the pleural cavity of a patient.